Empower Individuals With Autism Through Coding
Our goal is to train 3000 Young Adults on the Autism Spectrum across the world how to code. We will provide a 6 month training program with specialist support to help these young adults develop employment skills or gain self-employment in the app business.
Together we can change the life of someone on the Autism spectrum. Please sign-up to keep up to date on the campaign. We need your help.
80% of young adults on the autism spectrum are unemployed or underemployed.
Young adults on the autism spectrum are sitting at home right now, some struggle to enter into a mainstream office environment and with only 56% graduating high school many are unable to find employment.
Autistic people sometimes have exceptionally strong skills including pattern recognition and a high attention to detail that can make coding tasks ideal. A lack of autism-friendly training and support can be a big hurdle.
We believe that everyone can create apps and we are committed to bringing that vision to as many on the autism spectrum as possible. That’s why we are committed to training and support 3000 young adults on the autism spectrum to code and guide them in their first steps into the tech industry.
Our Plan
-
Teach App Building
We will create 3000 free places on a specially modified version of the popular Create It with LiveCode online training program. The 6 month program teaches anyone with no past coding experience how to build replicas of a dozen of the popular apps that we use every day on our smartphones. By learning to build replicas of the Calculator, Clock, Messages app and others the students learn transferable skills that can then be applied to building their own apps. Replicas also allow students to see when they have got it right every step of the way. As a partnership of organizations we have a wealth of experience and will work together to ensure the suitability of the course content.
In order to maximize the chances of success, we will create an additional place for every Autistic course participant to bring a mentor (for example a parent or friend) who will also be supported online. We will strongly encourage all course participants to bring a mentor with them. We will provide full support to the mentor (as if they were doing the course themselves). Because the course is accessible to complete beginners there is no need for the mentor to have any previous coding experience.
We recognize that coding will not be for everyone on the Autism spectrum. While we will have an online help desk available to help discuss individual issues the amount of individual support we can give is limited and is online only. We recommend that anyone considering this course consults with a friend, mentor or their local Autism organization to discuss whether or not they think the course is suitable for their specific needs and circumstances.
-
Introduce the Tech Industry
Learning to code is great but it’s not enough. During the 6 month training course we will run online workshops to help participants understand whether self-employment or employment at the end of the course might suit their specific circumstances. We will also run Business and Tech matters sessions to introduce the tech industry.
-
Form Relationships
The LiveCode Community is warm and welcoming to newcomers. We will create a special portal area where attendees can receive support and interact with others who are on the same learning journey. All the LiveCode tech support staff are receiving training in understanding Autism and interacting with individuals on the Autism spectrum, from one of our charity partners.
-
After the Course
We will set up an autism-friendly online marketplace where those that wish can bid for work and sell their services freelance.
In addition, LiveCode and Autism Initiatives will together set up a social enterprise which will directly hire a very small number of participants who finish the course and successfully apply. The social enterprise will be run in Edinburgh, Scotland to enable close interaction and management from our teams, so living in that city will be a requirement for this specific employment outcome. The individuals hired into the social enterprise will create a new interactive e-book app builder called LiveCode Publisher. This point and click tool will make at easy to create rich interactive e-books that deploy to multiple platforms and devices. 50% of revenues from sales of Publisher will be reinvested into the social enterprise for future projects.
The social enterprise will subsequently be able to offer consulting services to build interactive e-books and will keep 100% of those revenues. Creating interactive e-books is another high detail task that can be suitable to some on the Autism spectrum. We will make the social enterprise a top destination for companies who need their documentation repurposed and distributed as an interactive app.
The goal is to create a sustainable commercial venture to boost employment employment prospects for those on the Autism spectrum. If successful we will look at expanding to other cities and/or hiring from our Autism-friendly online marketplace to create content, in future years.
What’s Needed
How the Funds will be Spent
$350,000
Online support team costs for 6000 places on the course over 6 months (3000 Autism spectrum students + up to 3000 mentors) together with a further 6 months of post-course online support. Course technical support provided by LiveCode. Online Help Desk run by NAS at specific points within the course and content from other partners, including Specialiststerne and Autism Initiatives.
+ Adaptation of course materials in conjunction with partners
LiveCode’s free gift to all Autistic participants
1 year LiveCode Indy license allowing royalty free publishing of apps for all Autistic participants ($900,000 value)
Stretch Goals
$150,000
If the campaign makes it to $500k total then there will be social Enterprise setup, management by Autism Initiatives & LiveCode and salaries for Autistic employees for first year (to break even)
$100,000
If the campaign makes it to $600k total then we can support and train a further 1000 young adults on the autism spectrum how to code.
Who are We?
This is a unique partnership between a range of organizations who together have the capability to deliver this program.
LiveCode has a very clear vision that Everyone Can Create Apps. We mean anyone, anywhere. No experience needed. Our vision was realized in 2013 when we ran one of the top ten Kickstarter campaigns of that time, raised $750,000, and made the LiveCode platform faster and easier. LiveCode has a proven track record in Education, is used around the world with all age groups including ⅓ of all high schools in Scotland. Previous courses have enjoyed up to a 93% success rate.
NAS are the leading UK charity for people with autism (including Asperger syndrome) and their families. They provide information, support and pioneering services, and campaign for a better world for people with autism. The National Autistic Society will be running an Online Help Desk for attendees during the course to provide support and mentorship.
Specialisterne is an innovative social business concept originally founded in Denmark in 2004. Specialisterne is internationally recognized as the first and foremost example of how high functioning people with autism (Autism Spectrum Disorder) can become effectively included in society, and provide valuable, high quality services to their employers.
Autism Initiatives mission is to meet the needs of people with autism, their families and carers by providing a range of services which are personal, professional and innovative. LiveCode and Autism Initiatives will together set up a social enterprise which will directly hire a very small number of participants who finish the course and successfully apply. 50% of revenues from the sales in this enterprise will be reinvested into the social enterprise for future projects.
Rewards
This campaign will change lives. For everyone involved this is the primary reward and you can help make it happen.
We will update this page with the specific crowdfunding rewards in the coming days.
Help to spread the word
This movement is driven by you. We want to change the status quo and we need your help to get it started. Ways you can help:
- Choose a reward that suits you or simply donate to the IndieGoGo crowdfunding campaign.
- Spread the word about #EveryoneCanCreateApps on Facebook or Twitter
- Share this page
- Stay connected. Follow LiveCode.com on Facebook and on Twitter to stay up to date.
- Enter your email below to keep posted on campaign updates.
Together we can change the life of someone on the Autism spectrum. Please sign-up to keep up to date on the campaign. We need your help.
We will continue to update this page as we get closer to the launch of the campaign on April 2, 2015.
On completing of a successful campaign, we will start running the online course in June.
This campaign will be launched on World Autism Awareness week and the online course will be available to any English speaker worldwide. The social enterprise will be created initially in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Complete your details below to keep up to date on the campaign.
Frequently Asked Questions
[qa cat=autism]